Mutants and Heroes
by AdamTobiasGrayson
Summary: Jade West suffers a loss and leaves home, running into a certain Latina. Together the two find themselves on and adventure, meeting new friends and gaining enemies in the process and suffering a betrayal. Starts a bit slow.
1. Mutants On The Run

**A/N** **This story was somewhat inspired by LordDreadSigmas Experimental Heroes story, though it is unrelated to that story. This will include some Marvel superheroes, like Wolverine, and they could be OOC. If so then I do apologize I haven't had to write for any hero before. They won't appear for awhile though. The whole gang will be involved in the story, we're just starting with the two "main" characters. The title is also subject to change.**

**And of course this wil have Jori. Do I do Victorious stories without Jori?**

**Also, I did "character borrow" here. She should be pretty easy to spot if you keep track on who and what I write for.**

A person's seventeenth birthday is supposed to be a joyous occasion. Most teenagers at this age are getting ready for college, preparing for adulthood. However Jade West's seventeenth birthday would change her life forever.

"Jade! It's your birthday! You should party!" A blonde girl said, as she walked next to Jade and a brunette girl.

Jade was walking between the two girls she very loosely called her friends. The blonde was a girl named Lela and she was the very definition of a party girl. If alcohol wasn't involved she would not come to your party. She would always get upset with Jade when they drank together because Jade never got drunk. Not once has anyone seen a drunk Jade.

The brunette was more of a friend than Lela was. Rachel was Jade's cousin and she was determined to be on Broadway one day. She didn't lack confidence and was really the closest friend Jade had. Jade would protect her younger cousin from the bullies at school as often as she could.

"You know I don't like parties, Lela." Jade said.

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

Rachel sighed slightly, "You really do not know how to take No for an answer do you, Lela?"

"Not when it's a chance for me to get booze." Lela laughed heartily.

"Well, I'm not doing that. I just want to stay at home and relax." Jade said.

"You do that every day." Rachel pointed out. "Hey, why don't we go see that You're Next movie tonight?"

Jade raised an eyebrow at her cousin, "But you hate horror movies."

"Yeah, but I will do anything to make my favorite cousin have a nice birthday." Rachel smiled at the girl for a moment before reaching to run a finger over the dyed strand of blue hair in Jade's locks. "Maybe we should freshen up your highlights too. My treat."

"You really are the best cousin." Jade grinned, revealing her lengthened canines.

"I know."

Lela made a gagging noise as she tilted her head and proceeded to mime throwing up. "You guys sicken me. You're not going to be any fun today. I'm going to Kyle's." And with that Lela turned around and started walking the way they just came from.

"Why do we hang out with her?" Jade asked.

"We don't. She just doesn't know how to take a hint."

Jade chuckled and the two walked up to the steps leading up to Jade's house. They walked inside and went into the kitchen. Rachel grabbed two sodas from the refrigerator and gave one to Jade. As they sat at the kitchen table Rachel asked, "How's your claw?"

Jade has a secret that no one knows about, except for Rachel. She is a mutant, just like the X-Men you see on the news reports. Jade was one of the rare mutants that had more than one power: one being the three claws in each of her hands, between her knuckles. They were made of bone, but they were very dense and incredibly sharp. Her second power is a healing factor. Any injury she could receive is quickly mended. She hasn't had to go to the doctor for a broken bone or sprained muscle since she was little. However, the day before Jade did believe she had broken one of her claws. It was the worst pain she had ever felt. The combination of her abnormally dense bones and healing factor also granted Jade enhanced agility, reflexes, strength, and stamina.

"It's not broken apparently. It feels fine now. I think it got scratched or a little sprained or something."

Rachel smiled at her before taking a sip of the soda. "That is very good. You had me worried yesterday the way you were carrying on."

"Sorry." Jade said.

The front door opened and closed, signaling the arrival of Jade's mother, Prudence West. She walked into the kitchen and gave the girls a tired smile. "Hey girls."

"Hi, Aunt Prue."

"Hey, Mom. How was work?"

Prue sat across from her daughter and sighed softly, "I'm still not used to watching little kids anymore."

Rachel tilted her head curiously, "Why do you work at the Daycare Center anyway, Aunt Prue? You have all that money hidden away."

"It's a nice way to pass the time. Besides, I'm not rich Rachel. It won't last forever."

"But it's been building for seventeen years."

"Speaking of seventeen years… Jade, happy birthday."

"Thanks, mom. Just, can you not sing me that song again? Please."

"I've never understood why you never like people singing Happy Birthday to you." Prue said.

"Jade's an odd one." Rachel grinned teasingly at the older girl.

Jade rolled her eyes but otherwise let the comment slide.

Prue shifted to look at her niece. "Rachel, I need to talk to Jade. I don't mean to be rude but can we have some privacy? This is a rather personal matter. You can come back later."

Rachel frowned confused, "Um, okay. I'll tell my dads to wait awhile before they come over. Bye, Jade. Happy birthday. I hope you like the present."

Jade touched the necklace around her neck. It was a simple silver chain with a silver wolf pendant hanging from it. The pendant had an engraving on the back that read: For my favorite cousin. I love you Jay. -Rae. "I already told you I like it, Rae. See you later."

As the front door shut Jade looked at her mom, "Am I in trouble?"

"No sweetie, I just...need to tell you some things."

"What's wrong?"

"I know that you're a mutant."

Jade's eyes went wide, "I-I…"

Prue put a hand over her daughter's, "Sweetie, it's okay. Calm down."

"I'm sorry if I let you down."

"You didn't let me down. I've always known that you're a mutant."

"Wait...you always knew? But my powers didn't show until puberty."

Prue sighed softly, "This is going to be a little hard to believe Jade, but I promise it's true and I still love you."

"Mom?"

"About twenty years ago I worked for a company and they...they weren't the best people."

"What do you mean?"

"What they were and who they were aren't important right now. See, I...oh God this is harder than I expected it to be. They were trying to clone Weapon-X, who you probably know better as Wolverine from the X-Men, and I wanted a child so I volunteered to carry the baby. Once it took, I lied to them. I said it was unsuccessful and not long after I quit. I left the state and came here…. then had you."

"Wait…so, you're trying to tell me I'm a clone?"

"Yes."

Jade stood up and shook her head, running a hand through her hair. Prue watched her daughter with a frown, "I know this is a shock and I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I just wanted to make sure you could understand."

"That's why you wouldn't tell me who my father is? Because I don't have one?"

"I suppose you could say that in a way Wolverine is your father."

"I'm a clone of Wolverine? That's it? I'm not my own person?"

Prue stood and went to her daughter, "Of course you are, sweetheart. You're not just a clone. You're a human being. You're my daughter."

"So, Rachel isn't really my cousin."

"She is. You are my blood daughter sweetie. The whole process is very hard to explain."

Jade sighed and leaned against the fridge, trying to get her whole world straightened out. Prue reached into her pocket and pulled out a set of dog tags. "I made these for you when I found out you were actually going to be born. I know you see this as a bad thing, but without them I wouldn't have you. In a weird way I'm thankful." She held the tags out for Jade to read. On the top line was Jade's full name, below that was X-13.

"X-13? What's' that?"

"You were the thirteenth attempt to successfully clone Wolverine."

Jade growled, "And you thought this would make me happy? Just shoving it in my face that I'm not real!?"

"Jade, calm down, please. I know you're upset-"

"You're damn right I'm upset! You can't tell someone something like that and expect them to be happy!"

"Don't you take that tone of voice with me! I know your upset but I'm still your mother!"

Jade crossed her arms, "What do you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to-" the window shattered suddenly, interrupting Prue as she covered her face. She looked down to see a brick with a piece of paper attached to it.

"We know what she is!" Jade read aloud. "What does that mean? And who the hell did that?"

"We need to leave. Now."

"What're you talking about?"

"Don't argue, Jade. Let's go!" Prue grabbed Jade's hand and started pulling her towards the backdoor.

"Mom! What's going on?"

But before Prue could say anything further, several angry slurs and shouts could be faintly heard over the bustling drone of rage boiling outside, and in that moment Jade knew that the thing every young mutant fears has finally arrived… a mindless, violent anti-mutant mob.

"What about Rachel?" Jade forced her mother to stop just short of the backdoor.

Prue turned around to look at her daughter, "She'll be fine. They're after us, not her."

"But we should-" Jade was interrupted as a huge explosion threw her to the ground. She was thrown to the ground and her head bounced off the floor. Disoriented she sat up, faintly able to see the house on fire, part of the wall was on the floor and her mother was on the floor. "Mom?" Another explosion hit and she looked up to see the ceiling falling straight towards her.

Blue-green eyes slowly opened as Jade regained consciousness. She felt a weight on her chest and after a moment realized part of the ceiling had fallen on her. With a grunt she managed to push the weight off of her and sat up. She could feel blood on her face and clothes, but her healing factor had healed the wounds. Looking around she saw the house was in ruins.

"Mom?" Not getting an answer she got worried. "Mom!?" Her eyes scanned the area and spotted an arm under the backdoor. "Oh no." She dropped beside the door and lifted it up. Underneath was her mother, blood surrounding her coming from a deep wound in her head. "Oh, no no no. Mom? Mom, wake up."

She put her hand on her mother's shoulder and Prue's eyes fluttered open. "J-Jade?" Her voice was weak.

"Oh, thank God. I need to get you to the hospital."

"No...Jade. It's too late."

Jade's eyes widened slightly, "What?"

"I'm losing too much blood sweetie...they won't get here in time."

She shook her head as her eyes filled with tears, "No! You-you'll be fine. It'll be okay."

"Jade, you…you need to go." She spoke as firmly as she could as the flames encroaching upon them grew more intense.

"I'm so sorry. I love you, Mom."

"I love you too sweetheart." Prue exhaled one final time and her head fell to the side.

Tears fell down the young girl's cheeks as she leaned down and pressed her lips lightly to her mother's forehead, lightly dragging her fingers down her face to close her eyes. For countless minutes Jade sat with her mother as the flames began to consume their home around them, the tears not slowing until she had no more tears left to shed. Jade wiped her eyes on her arm and noticed something. In her mother's hand were the dog tags. Gently she took the tags and slipped them around her neck, the tags stopping just short of the wolf pendant. Sirens were approaching from the distance and it was then Jade made a choice. She stood up and ran from the house, away from the life she'd known for seventeen years, away from her dead mother.

On the other side of town Tori Vega sat with her family at the table eating dinner. To her right was her older sister Trina, her mother Holly to the left and her father, David, right across from her. They were talking and laughing and if you were to look in and see them you would think that they were a normal family. But you'd be wrong...

David Vega is the lieutenant in the Hollywood Police Department homicide division. On his downtime he is one of the city's most recognized Mutant Haters, along with his wife. They believe mutants are an abomination to the world and should be eradicated. If one of their daughters were a mutant it would be a disgrace to them. Luckily for them Trina Vega was not a mutant.

Tori, on the other hand, is a mutant with an extraordinary power. She is able to completely copy another mutants power just by watching them. There is a limit to how many powers she can actively copy and use at any time, there's also the chance that she cannot learn the power or it would override one of her other "stored" powers. At the moment she is unable to actively learn powers by command, only subconsciously, meaning the powers she gains are sheer luck. Currently she has three powers stored.

"So, Tori, how was school today?" Holly asked.

"It was fine. Nothing special happened." Tori responded, taking a minute away from her food.

David shook his head, "That's not true. One of the students was caught using 'powers'."

Holly gasped, "Oh, my. Who?"

"A boy named Ryder Daniels. Such a disgrace."

"Didn't he date Tori for a while?" Trina asked.

"He did."

"Are mutants really that bad, Dad?" Tori asked hesitantly.

"Yes, they are."

"But do you even know any?"

"Why would I want to know any mutants?"

Tori sighed and shook her head. Ever since she discovered her powers at fourteen she had been wary of how her parents would react. She knew it wouldn't be good, but at least Trina was on her side. Trina had walked in on her one day when she was getting a feel for her newest power at the time, flight.

"I'm trying to get the government to bring back the Sentinels." David announced.

"The Sentinels?! Dad that's crazy!" Tori cried.

David sat back and looked at her, "Crazy to get rid of mutants? Sentinels will go right after them. They'd be gone in no time."

"Tori, relax." Trina urged, seeing Tori was reaching a boiling point that had been building for years.

Tori took a deep breath to try and calm herself. "Can I be excused?"

Holly looked at her slightly concerned, "Are you all right sweetie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Hold on, Tori. I want to know why you care about mutants so much." David said, holding a hand up. "Is it because you still like that Daniels boy?"

"Eww. No way. He used me to get a good grade. I hate him." Tori crossed her arms.

"Then why-"

"I just don't share your opinions Dad."

"What so you approve of those things?"

"David, calm down." Holly said, patting his arm.

Tori stood up, "As a matter of fact I do. You can't change how you're born. It's not like they chose to be mutants. They just are."

"They don't have to be." David said.

"What do you mean?" Trina looked at him.

"Well, there is a cure. It removes a mutant's powers and makes them normal. It's not public knowledge right now but it'll be a voluntary process. I think they need to force them to take it but they won't listen to me."

"A cure? No one would want that!"

Trina frowned a bit, "Actually, Tori, not every mutant is happy with their powers."

"As they shouldn't be." Holly commented.

"God, I can't take it anymore." Tori knocked over her chair as she spun around to walk across the room. "Mom, Dad-"

"Tori!" Trina tried to interrupt.

"-I'm a mutant okay!?" Tori finished, flinging her arms out.

David gave her a stern look, "That's not funny, Tori."

"Your father's right honey. Never joke about being a mutant."

"It's not a joke!" Tori took a couple of steps away from the table and within seconds she was floating in the air.

"My God."

"I'm happy with who I am! There is nothing wrong with being a mutant!" Tori snapped.

"David, what do we do?" Holly asked.

"We'll take her to get the cure." David announced, as if it were the final word.

Tori stared at him, "Are you serious? Dad, I'm not getting that stupid cure."

"You're under eighteen and we're your parents. You have to do what we tell you."

"Screw that!"

Holly gasped, "Tori, do not take that tone of voice to your father."

"I don't care who you are. I'm not changing who I am just to please you."

David stood up, the chair falling to the floor. "You're taking the cure and that's final!"

Tori glared at him, "I hate you." She made a break for the front door but her father caught her ankle and attempted to pull her down. Very quickly she realized she couldn't break free with sheer strength alone and the ceiling was not high enough for her to truly fly. Her instincts kicked in and a spurt of fire flew from her palm aimed directly at her father. Shocked David released her ankle and quickly scrambled out of the way, he got away uninjured but his hair was not so lucky.

Tori looked at the rest of her family to see her sister staring at her in shock. She looked at her mother and all she saw in Holly's eyes was sheer terror. The young mutant panicked and turned her hand to the window, blasting it with ice. The window frame and window froze. Tori flew through the brittle window, immediately flying up into the night sky.


	2. An Alliance

Roughly about an hour after she first took flight Tori finally landed on the ground again. She was slightly fatigued but had finally found an abandoned house. At least it looked abandoned on the outside, and quite the unattractive building. The paint was fading, someone had spray painted some very vulgar graffiti on the side of the house, and a few of the windows were either broken completely or cracked. It was the perfect hiding spot for a runaway like her. She just hoped there was no one else in it.

She didn't really have a full length plan for what she was going to do. Tori hoped she could stay as long as she needed to, but she wasn't sure what else she could do. She couldn't go back home that was to obvious. Her father would try to stick the cure in her and there's no way she could let that happen.

The Latina opened the door of the house and quickly stepped inside, quietly shutting the door behind her. It was a one story building with the front door leading into the hallway with two doors leading to different rooms, thankfully the light from the street lights could come in from the windows. The end of the hallway seemed to lead to the kitchen.

Tori peeked around the corner of the right door and saw no one in the room. It was a living room, but it was in horrible shape. The T.V. screen had a hole in it and the couch had matching holes on each seat. The lone chair in the room (and only other furniture in the room) oddly was void of holes, but it was very dusty.

Tori turned around to check the other room and found herself face to face with a set of blue-green eyes. She let out a shriek of surprise and fell back against the wall.

"Who are you?" The girl asked. "What do you want?"  
"I-I just wanted place to hide." Tori said. "I don't have anywhere else to go."

"What do you mean? I swear to God if you lead that mob here I'll-"

"What? What mob? I had to get away from my parents! They wanted to give me a mutant cure!"  
The green eyes went wide and she took a step back. "Wait...you're a mutant?"

"Yes."  
"Prove it."  
Tori raised an eyebrow at her but held out her hand and created a ball of fire in her palm. The extra light let her see the girl better. She was a very attractive girl with black hair and stray strand of blue. The area around her eyes were red and slightly puffy, making Tori wonder if she had been crying. She was dressed in black shirt and jeans. Tori also noted she had two necklaces on: a dog tag and wolf pendant.

"My power is...kind of complicated really." She closed her fist and extinguished the flame. "What about you? Are you a mutant?"

"Yes. But this I don't think this place is big enough for us both."

"What? That's a bunch of crap. I don't feel like doing this right now. You can sleep where ever the bedroom is and I'll just take the couch."

"Fine."

"I'm Tori Vega."  
"I said you could stay here not that we'd be friends."

Tori sighed and shook her head, giving up and walking to the couch. As she laid on the couch trying to sleep she heard the girl say, "You can call me Jade." Retreating footsteps told her the girl was gone.

The next day Tori woke up with a crick in her back and neck and well everywhere. She sat up just as Jade walked into the room. The Goth dropped a McDonalds bag onto her lap before sitting in the chair and sipping from her large cup. Tori looked at the bag then Jade, then peered into the bag finding a breakfast burrito.

She looked up at the girl, "What's this?"

"A peace offering."

"Thanks." Tori said, immediately pulling the burrito out and starting to eat.

Jade watched her for a moment before she looked down at her dog tag. "Where'd you get those?" Her eyes went to the brown eyed Latina who questioned her. She didn't really want to talk about it, but something told her that Tori wasn't the type of person to just give up on something she wanted to hear about.

"My family."

"Your parents?"

"My...um...mom gave me the dog tag."  
Tori nodded, "And your Dad gave you the wolf?"  
"I don't have a Dad." Jade snapped. When Tori flinched she sighed, "My cousin gave it to me for my birthday yesterday."

"It was your birthday yesterday?"  
"It wasn't a very good one."  
Tori swallowed the food before speaking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. What's the point? It won't help anything."

"Might make you feel better."  
Jade scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Talking won't help."

"So…" Tori started slowly, not wanting to upset the girl more. "what's your mutant power?"

"You explain yours I'll explain mine."

"Well the way I see it I can copy mutant powers just by seeing them in action. But it seems to be selective and I have no control over it."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"How do you get that?"

"Well my powers activated three years ago. My friend Serafina discovered she was a mutant who could fly. She was showing off to my little group of friends and the next thing I know I'm in the air with her. At the time I just thought I could fly too, but about a year after that I encountered a set of twins: Mikayla and Michael. They could control ice and fire, respectively. I watched them for awhile and then my hand lights on fire. We put together that I can copy powers."

"Whatever happened to them? Serafina and the twins?"  
Tori frowned, "I think Serafina got sent of to a mutant school. The twins, well...they died. A bunch of anti mutant groups attacked their house. I don't know if explosions have fire or not but if they did Michael either couldn't control it or he was to slow."

"Wait, explosions?"  
Tori nodded. "Someone knew how to get grenades."

"Maybe their the same group that I encountered last night." Jade muttered to herself, though Tori still heard her.

However the Latina decided not to press the subject, "What about you? What can you do?"  
"A few things actually. I have heightened senses, you know sight, hearing, reflexes, etcetera. My main power however are these." With her fists balled up Jade let her bone claws out. Tori gasped and stared at the claws.

Jade got an idea in her mind, "Or...maybe this should be considered my main power." With that she drove the left set of claws straight through her right arm.

Tori shrieked, "Holy crap! Jade, what the hell are you doing!?"

Jade started laughing as she pulled the claws out, leaving three horrible wounds behind.

Tori stood up and moved to Jade to look at the injury, "This isn't funny, Jade! This is serious! We should get you to the hospit-" Before she could finish her sentence the wound slowly closed up, leaving no trace that it even happened. "I-What the hell?"

"Healing factor. Man that was funny. You should've seen your face."

Tori slapped her shoulder, "That wasn't funny! I thought you were seriously injured!"  
Jade grinned, "It was funny to me."

Tori glared at her and retook her seat on the couch, balling up the empty burrito wrapping and throwing it in the bag. "So, wait. You're like Wolverine and X-23."  
"Who the hell is X-23?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but when I saw her on the news she was with the X-Men and had two claws in her fists and a third in her feet. There's rumors that she's Wolverine's daughter on the internet."

"Wait...X-23." Experiment 23? Jade though to herself. With something to ponder she shook her head. "Yes, I'm like Wolverine. However, unlike Wolverine my fingernails grow awfully fast. And they're always so sharp. It's weird."

"Maybe that says something about you."  
"Bite me, Vega."  
"Bet you'd like that."

Jade rolled her eyes and retracted her claws. "More like you'd like it."

Tori smirked and decided to throw a curve ball, "Indeed I would. Just tell me where you want it."

Jade just stared at the girl for a moment before getting her train back on track, "My ass."

"Kinky."

"Your sick."  
Tori laughed and laid back on the couch.

Jade shook her head, "Last night you said something about your parents trying to give you a cure...are you not going back?"

"No. My parents are mutant haters. I'm a runaway now. Just for another year until I'm legal anyway...you a runaway?"

Jade thought for a moment, "I guess technically I am."

"I've got a proposition for you. There's a lot of mutant haters around here. Not to mention we'll get the cops on us sooner or later. If you watch your back I'll watch yours. Deal?"

"I suppose that could work…"

"I'm glad you agree. So, now what?"  
"I think I just want to relax...I had a rough day yesterday."

"Okay. If you want to talk about it.."  
"Don't get your hopes up on that." Jade said, standing up and walking out of the room.

Tori watched her go with a sigh.


	3. Moving On

Chapter 3: Moving On

Jade couldn't say she was unhappy with the situation she was in. Of course she wished her mother wasn't gone, but she had to make the most of a bad situation. She did feel slightly guilty that she got the somewhat comfortable bed and Tori was stuck on the couch; the very lumpy and horrible couch. Even if it was Tori's idea.

Living with the girl for two weeks and hardly going anywhere has let the two girls get to know each other. They weren't the best of friends, but they were at the least friends. Though Jade did get the feeling the Latina wanted to be a bit more then friends, not that she'd said anything about it.

Speaking of her roommate, Jade wondered when she would return. Tori had gone out to get food, but they had to be cheap about it. Their wallets were starting to run low and with no way to get more money, they were screwed. They had T.V. now though thanks to Jade. She went to the junkyard and found a T.V. that would do well, it wasn't anything fancy...or big. She also managed to tap into the neighbors cable, but Tori insisted they at least not buy anything and not watch it 24/7.

Which is why she was only watching the news. Apparently there was a hero in Los Angeles she never heard of called Metal Lass. She was kind of a rip off of Iron Man, with the same type of armor. However it was much slimmer then Iron Man's and it was pink. There was silver going from her ankles to her knees, which Jade assumed was imbedded with the armor for flair, and there was a similar look on her arm from her wrist to her elbows. Metal Lass had apparently been active for two years now and had defeated a number of villains including Rhino and Sabretooth. Though Jade did not like her because she stole Iron Man's thing, not that she likes him either. At least she did say on the News she was in no way associated with Iron Man and did not want to be called Iron Woman like the media had called her.

The next topic however got her attention. The anchorman smiled at the camera and announced, "Today, the Hollywood Police Department announced that a company, who wishes to remain anonymous, has created a cure for mutants. The HPD will help distribute the cure to any mutant that wishes to take it. This is not a new law, it is completely voluntary."

How many mutants will actually take that cure? Jade wondered to herself. She didn't have long to ponder that thought though as the door opened. "Jade?"

"In here." Jade called. The door slammed and moments later a certain Latina walked in the room with a bag of fast food. "What'd you bring us?"  
"Things off the dollar menu." Tori handed her the bag. "I ate mine on the way here."  
Jade pulled out the French fries and started munching on them. Tori happened to glance at the T.V. and saw the news. "Oh, God. They released it?"  
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Apparently they have a cure for mutants now."

"But we're not a disease!" Tori said.

"Most people think we are." Jade replied with a mouthful of fries.

"Yeah, all the ones that are scared of us. I mean I realize some of us don't want our powers, but why does it need to be a cure?"

"I don't know. What's your problem?"

"You're not upset about this?"

Jade shook her head, "Why would I be? It's not like I'm going to go and take it. If some mutants want to take it that's their thing."

Tori sighed and sat next to her on the couch. "I see your point. Okay… well I have good news and bad news for you."  
"What's the good news?" Jade looked at her.

"The good news is I got in contact with my sister, Trina, through the payphone and she's going to wire us money every now and then."  
"That is good. You sure she won't rat you out?"  
"Yes. Trina helped me with my powers and helped me keep it from my parents. She won't tell them."  
The raven haired girl nodded, "And the bad news?"  
"She also said my parents put out a missing persons for me and the cops are looking for me."  
"Damn."

"I think we should leave Hollywood."

"What?"

"Think about it: if we stay here they can find us. Let's go somewhere else. I always run the risk of running into my family here anyway."  
Jade thought about it for a moment before sighing, "Fine. But I want to stop by my house and see if there's anything I can take with me."

Tori nodded. "When?"  
"We'll go to my house tonight and leave first thing in the morning."

"I didn't think tonight meant midnight." Tori mumbled as she walked with Jade down the sidewalk.

"This is the time we are least likely to get caught." Jade snapped. She was slight concerned about how Tori would react when she saw her house. She had yet to tell the Latina exactly how she ended up on the streets.

They turned onto Jade's street and Jaded aimed her flashlight towards her house. The police hadn't cleaned up the building, they just put up a fence with a Do Not Enter sign on it. Jade rolled her eyes as she walked up to the gate.

Tori's eyes widened when she saw the ruined building. "You lived here? What happened?"  
"I don't know if I want to talk about it yet."

"I realize it must be hard for you if something bad happened but if you talk about it it might help you fell better."

Jade sighed and turned to look at her companion, "Look, Tori, I know you're trying to help, but this is something my healing factor can't fix. When I'm ready to talk about it you'll be the first to know but right now…"  
Tori nodded and rubbed the Goth's shoulder, "Okay."

Jade kicked the gate in and walked up to the house. The majority of the roof was collapsed in, part of the wall in the front gave way, however the door remained intact. "Do you mind waiting here?"  
"Take your time, Jade." Tori told her.

Jade gave her a slight smile then walked to the door and opened it. She knew her mother's body was gone and they held the funeral last week. She had gone, despite the risk, and hid in the back row. She saw Rachel and her father's in the front and it took everything not to go to them, just to tell them she was fine.

She walked through the halls and sighed at the sight. Many of the picture frames and decorations had been destroyed in the explosions. Jade had been hoping that at least one of the pictures of her and her mother survived, wanting a little reminder of her mother. Of course she had the dog tags but it wasn't the same as a picture. Nor were the memories the house brought back.

The door to her room had fallen off the hinges and a chunk of the room was blocked by the fallen roof. Her dresser was not under the debris and she took the backpack from the floor, dumping the contents on the floor. Jade then started to put as many of her clothes from the dresser in the backpack as she could. It was a pretty decent amount as the backpack was one of the larger ones. Her mother had insisted on making sure she had enough room for everything she would need for school.

Once she had enough clothes she looked around the room for anything else she would want to take. Once she realized the roof was covering a few items she might want she lifted the debris up and tossed it outside. Luckily for Tori she threw the debris out towards the backyard.

With the debris out of the way Jade could now see what was under it. Her table with her T.V. had broken, the T.V. shattered. Her horror movie collection was scattered along the floor, a few DVDs had come from their cases and lay on the floor broken or cracked. The girl was disappointed in that, most of those movies took her forever to find. Disappointment was quickly replaced with relief as blue eyes found a pair of scissors on the floor. For her sixteenth birthday Prue had gotten her daughter the pair of scissors that were used in her favorite movie, The Scissoring. The case for them had been shattered by the roof, but the scissors themselves remained intact. Jade quickly snatched them up and put them in her bag.

In the corner of the room was her chest. Inside of it was roughly two thousand dollars she had been saving. She was quite relieved when she saw it was still inside and quickly put the money in her pocket. The thought of money reminded her of Prue's account. Jade zipped up the backpack and hurried to her mother's room.

Prue's room was more then likely the room least damaged in the attack. The roof was where it was supposed to be, and the walls were still intact, but a few of the pictures on the wall had fallen and some furniture had tipped over. Prue's purse lay on the floor in front of her bedside table, where she would place it when she got home for good for the day. Jade picked it up and pulled the wallet out. She took the card from inside and carefully placed it back in the purse, setting it on the table. Deciding she had enough from the house she turned to leave, when she saw it. Laying on the floor in front of the dresser was a picture frame. Inside was a picture of Jade and her mother from a few months back. It was taken by a professional that Prue had insisted on going too. It turned out nice, even though Jade hated having to dress up for it. She carefully placed the picture in her backpack and left the house.

Jade walked out the door to see Tori sitting against the fence. The Latina looked up at her friend and stood up, "You get everything?"

"Yep. I found some money in my chest. Can't believe I forgot about it. I got my mom's card too. We can dip into her account when we start to run low."

Tori frowned, "Wait...we're stealing from your mom?"  
Jade shook her head, "No. Its technically mine. She was putting it in a college fund for me...but I don't believe that'll ever happen. Besides...mom won't have much use for it now."

Tori wanted to press on, ask her what she meant, but by the look in Jade's eyes, she knew she needed to keep quiet.

"Come on, let's go." Tori took her friend's hand in her own and lead her down the street.

"Where are we going to go? And how do we get there?" Jade asked.

"I'm not sure. We'll figure something out though."


	4. Malibu Fight Club

Jade had always had a thing for motorcycles. In fact that's what the money in her chest was for. She was licensed to drive a motorcycle and she was going to buy one. She made a deal with a man to buy his from him because he was to old to ride it now and he did not want to see it go to waste. However she still needed five hundred more dollars to get it.

So, she woke up slightly earlier then planned and found the nearest ATM machine. Prue had been lying when she said there wasn't much money in the account. There was just over one hundred thousand dollars in the account. She took out seven hundred dollars then went to the old man's house.

Mr. Cranston was surprised Jade showed up so early in the morning to get the bike, but he was always up at this time and didn't mind. Jade paid him and, somewhat happily, drove the bike back to the house. Tori came outside hearing the motor, fully dressed and hair wet.

"Jade? What the hell are you doing with a motorcycle?" She questioned.

Jade grinned as she got off the bike, "I was going to buy this from someone when I got the money and I was really close to getting it. I figured we needed some way to get wherever we're going so I took the rest of the money from my mom's account and bought it earlier then I planned. I also took out a bit extra in case we need it."  
Tori smiled, "Nice thinking, Jade. Where are we going to put our stuff though?"

"You can wear my backpack, that's really all we have. You only have that one set of clothes. I'm glad you wash it every couple of days."

"Well all right. Ready to leave now?"  
"Yep."  
"Great. I'll go get your pack. Everything's in it right?" Jade nodded and Tori hurried inside. She came back out with the pack on her back. Jade swung her leg back over the motorcycle and started it up. Tori sat behind her and wrapped her arms around Jade's waist, a little closer to her than a friend would be. Jade didn't seem to mind though and sped off.

After hours on the motorcycle the girls finally stopped in Malibu. They got a cheap hotel, or the cheapest one they could find with a pool that is. They didn't plan on staying that long, but Tori insisted on enjoying the beach and for some reason Jade just couldn't say no to her.

The Latina all but dragged her friend to the closest swimwear store to buy themselves bathing suits and such things. When they had what they needed the girls were off to the beach.

The beach was awfully crowded and Jade didn't like it much, having never been one for crowds. With her black sunglasses and black bikini she laid on a beach chair under and umbrella and relaxed. As much as she loved the motorcycle, she wasn't quiet used to it yet.

Tori was standing next to her in her own aqua two piece, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. "Jade, come on. Let's go for a swim."

"Why do you need me to go swimming with you? You scared or something?" Jade looked up at her.

"No. I just...I want to spend time with you."

"And the two weeks together aren't enough?"

Tori sighed, "That's different. All we could do was sit around hiding."

Jade glanced at the water, then back to Tori, biting her cheek. "Look, honestly Tori, I don't do oceans. Pools, yes, but I don't go in the ocean."

"Why not?"  
"The last time I went into the ocean I had an...encounter with a dolphin." Jade confessed.

Tori raised an eyebrow, now curious, "Encounter?"

"I...you know what um...how your parents had to do to have you right?"

"I-wait. The dolphin tried to have sex with you?"

"Don't say it like that!" Jade protested.

Though she tried to hold back Tori burst into laughter. Jade frowned and crossed her arms, glaring at the girl. Tori knelt down next to her and put her hand on her arm, "Jade, I'm sorry but that's just...how does that even happen?"

"I don't know! It just came out of nowhere. Rachel and I were just swimming and messing around-"

"Wait, wait. Whose Rachel?" Tori asked, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"My cousin." Jade deadpanned.

Tori blushed from embarrassment. "Oh."

"Tori, I'm sorry, I'll swim with you all you want at the hotel pool, but I can't get in the ocean."

Tori sighed, "Okay. I'll stop pushing. Sorry...and I didn't mean to laugh at you."  
"Yeah you did. If you told me that story I would've laughed too. Doesn't mean I'm not upset with you for it though."

The Latina shook her head and headed to the water.

Tori had a slight pout on her lips as she walked into the water. How was she ever going woo Jade if she couldn't get her to do anything with her. Tori had known for a long time that she was into girls, but none had got her attention as much as Jade did. She could see herself falling for the raven haired girl and staying with her for a long time. She just had to get the girl's attention.

The ocean water was nice and cold. Deciding to go ahead and get it over with Tori dipped her head under the water. She came back up and saw another person in front of her. It was a guy with shoulder length black hair. "Whoa!"  
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He apologized.

"It's fine. Just didn't expect someone to pop out of nowhere." Tori chuckled awkwardly.

"I just saw you looked a little down. You're in Malibu, more specifically the beach in Malibu."  
"I know. It's really nice here."  
"Then why the frown?"

"My friend wouldn't join me."

"Well, I'll tell you what. I'll keep you company."  
"Thanks. I'm Tori."  
"I'm Beck." He gave her a smile.

Tori slipped back under the water, until just her head was visible. "So, are you on vacation?"

"No, I guess you could say I live here. You?"  
"Uh. It's a bit complicated."

"I see." Beck nodded, then threw water in Tori's face.

She gasped and wiped her eyes. "Oh, you're going to get it now!"

Jade was enjoying herself in her chair, until she heard Tori laugh. She looked over to see Tori and a guy throwing water at each other. She frowned slightly and averted her eyes. Her eyes caught site of a blonde girl talking with a dark haired Asian girl and smirked. Two can play this game Vega.

She walked over to the cute blonde and gave her a smile. "Hey there."  
The girl gave her an awkward smile, "Hi."

"You know that the beach is meant for bikinis and such like this right?" Jade gestured to her own swimsuit. "Not shirts and jeans, despite how good you look in them."  
The blonde blushed, "I know, but we aren't staying long. We're just looking for something. You do look good in that though." Jade smirked as she say the girls eyes travel up and down her body.

The blonde's friend rolled her eyes, "Karolina, this is not the time for you to be flirting."  
"I- what? Nico, I'm not flirting!"

"Erm, are you two dating or something?" Jade questioned hesitantly.  
"What? No." Nico quickly denied. Jade caught the hurt look in Karolina's eyes at the quick denial.

"Then what's the problem?"

"We are here on business. Not fun."

"All work and no play will make you a dull girl ya know." Jade said. "Besides what business can you have on the beach?"

Between getting splashed by Beck and dunking him under the water, Tori caught a glimpse of Jade's empty beach chair. When Beck came back up she caught his wrists, "Hold on. Jade's gone."

"Maybe she went back to the hotel." Beck offered.

Tori quickly scanned the crowd and saw Jade standing awfully close to two girls. "Or she's flirting with some chick. I'll be back."  
The girl quickly made it to the sand and marched straight towards Jade, slightly aware Beck was following her.

"Besides what business can you have on the beach?" Jade was saying.

"It doesn't matter." Nico said.

"Excuse me, girls," Tori said sweetly, standing next to Jade, "There you are Jade."  
"Oh, hi Vega. You finished flirting with the actor wanna be?" Jade questioned.

Beck awkwardly rubbed his neck, "I'm not an actor wanna be and my name is Beck."

Before Jade could tell him to go to hell there was a loud crash from a nearby building followed by a loud alarm.

"The hell was that?" Jade questioned.

"Nico, we have to go check it out." Karolina said.

"Karolina, we're looking for a runaway not a chance to be heroes." Nico said.

"We can't just do nothing!"

Nico sighed, "Fine. Let's go." Karolina grinned and the two ran towards the alarms.

"What're you doing?! You're gonna get hurt!" Jade shouted at them.

"Come on, Jade. Let's help them." Tori said, running after them, with Beck quickly behind her.

"Tori! Aw dammit!" Jade cursed as she chased after her.

"Haha. This time we're getting off scot free boys." The supervillian known as Wrecker announced as he held up a duffle bag filled with money in his left hand, his magic crowbar in his right hand.

To his right was Thunderball, who had two duffle bags in his hands, his magic wrecking ball wrapped around his right hand. "And this time we don't have Piledriver's kid to share the money with!"  
Piledriver shook his head, "Well his enchanted shovel broke thanks to that mutant kid. I don't even know which juvie he's in."

He didn't go on further when Bulldozer shoved another duffle bag in his hand. "Quit whining about that annoying brat of yours and let's get going before some do gooder shows up!"  
The Wrecking Crew proudly marched out of the vault of the bank and straight out the doors. Where they found two girls waiting for them.

"Oh, great, it's the witch and E.T."

"You guys again?" Nico stared at them. "You're robbing a bank in broad daylight. Did you think you'd get away?"

"There's no heroes in Malibu right now. Perfect time to steal."  
Wrecker glanced around, "They don't have the mutie or that dinosaur girl with them this time. We can handle them."  
"Hey! Don't you know that mutie is a harsh word?" Everyone turned to see Tori running up to them. "Watch your mouth or this mutant will break your face."

"You're a mutant?" Karolina questioned.

Nico looked at Tori closely, "Hey, wait a second. You're the runaway we're looking for."  
"Deal with that later Nico."

Beck and Jade caught up with them.

"Guys, if you don't have powers you better back off." Karolina warned.

"Oh, I'm probably the strongest one here." Jade grinned, closing her fists and with a snikt her claws were free.

"Holy crap." Nico commented.

Thunderball dropped his duffle bag and started swirling it around like a lasso. "What're you? Some kind of Wolverine wanna be?"  
"Yeah. Something like that. And unless you want your asses kicked I suggest you put that money back."

"Get 'em boys." Wrecker commanded.

Jade moved to charge but was met with a wrecking ball. She was slammed into a nearby light post, snapping it in two.

"Jade!" Tori cried. "Oh, you're asking for it!" Within a second she was in the air and closing in on Thunderball, fire erupting from her palms.

Karolina pulled off her bracelet and her body was glowing with bright, colorful lights. She flew up in the air and then dive bombed directly towards Piledriver.

"Dammit, I don't have Chase's knife. I can't get the Staff of One!" Nico shouted.

"Perfect." Bulldozer grinned as he charged at Nico.

"Not so fast big guy." Beck said, standing in front of Nico." You want her you gotta go through me."  
"Easy pretty boy."

"So you'd think." Beck grinned, and with a wave of his hand Bulldozer was surrounded by a group of Beck's.

"The hell is this!"  
"Magic. Now which one's the real pretty boy?" The Beck's said at once as they started circling Bulldozer.

"Whoa. That's a good one." Nico commented.

"What was this about needing to bleed?" Nico jumped when she heard Jade's voice in her ear.

"My Staff of One is my power source, but it's in my body. To get it out I need to bleed."  
"Easy." Jade withdrew two of her claws on one hand and quickly dragged the remaining straight across Nico's arm.

"When blood is drawn is shed...let the Staff of One emerge!" With the words a staff shot out of Nico's chest.

Jade's eyes widened as she released her claws again, "Freaky." She saw Wrecker about to get involved with Tori and Thunderball's fight and ran to intercept him.

Meanwhile Bulldozer was still swinging at Beck. Every time he hit one, his hand would go straight through him.

Beck laughed, "What's the matter? Can't find the original?"  
"All I need is one shot!"

"To bad you won't get it." Nico said, aiming the Staff at him. "I bet you'd make a nice... Statue." With the spell cast Bulldozer immediately froze in place, his body covered in a shade of gray.

All the Beck's, save one, vanished, and the original walked over to Nico. "Is that permanent?"  
"No. It'll probably wear off in an hour or so." Nico said.

"Too bad."

"Last time you got lucky, freak! This time you won't get the best of me!" Piledriver shouted.

"Really? Let's test that theory." Karolina concentrated and a burst of energy shot from her hand and Piledriver was to slow to dodge. The energy blast threw him off his feet and straight into the wall of the bank. He fell on the ground, out cold yet again thanks to the alien girl. "Well what do you know? Took you down again."

Tori barely managed to duck under the wrecking ball. She was starting to wonder whether this was a good idea.

"Stay still!" Thunderball snapped, irritated.

"And I'd do that why?" Tori questioned. However an idea appeared in her head and she grinned. "Okay, take your best shot." She floated in one spot, directly in Thunderball's line of fire.

Confident he had her, Thunderball threw the wrecking ball directly at her. Tori waited for the perfect moment before throwing her arms up and letting the ice fly from her hands. Within seconds the ball was frozen solid. Tori grinned and quickly threw the ball to the ground, shattering it into pieces. With his weapon gone Thunderball was caught off guard. Tori used her ice powers to create a sledgehammer made of ice and flew straight at the villain. When she was close enough she swung the hammer with all her might, cracking it against Thunderball's skull. He fell to the ground and Tori grinned. "I did it!"

Wrecker moved in to take out Tori while she was distracted by Thunderball, however a raven haired girl blocked his path. "One more step and I slice your hands off."

"You're a bad Wolverine you know. His claws aren't bone. I bet you can't even pierce skin with those." Wrecker mocked.

"Let's fine out." Jade growled, jumping towards him and slashing wildly.

Wrecker blocked her with his crowbar, forcing it forwards to throw her off balance. Taking advantage he brought his crowbar forward and there was a loud crack as it made contact with Jade's jaw. She stumbled back as her jaw hung loose.

Wrecker laughed, "Haha! See what you get for trying to stop me? You get a broke jaw."

Jade growled, retracted her claws and delivered a right hook right to Wrecker's jaw. He staggered slightly, but recovered quickly and retaliated with another swing from his crowbar. This time Jade ducked under it and attacked with her left hand, with her claws still extended on the hand. Her claws caught him on the chest but didn't draw blood. Wrecker brought his crowbar down, intending to connect with Jade's skull. Jade, however, saw it coming and caught the crowbar with her right hand. She twisted his arm, then jumped over it wrenching his arm more and forcing him to let go off the crowbar. As soon as her feet were on the ground Jade spun on her heels and brought Wrecker's own crowbar across his face. Jade smirked as she heard a snapping sound. Retracting her claws she touched her jaw and the smirk grew. "Superhuman strength and a healing factor. Break my bones all you want I'll keep coming back for more." The crowbar made contact with Wrecker's temple and he fell to the ground. She threw the weapon at his unconscious body and walked over to the others.

"I can't believe we just beat the Wrecking Crew!" Tori shouted gleefully.

Hearing police sirens Nico looked around, "Let's celebrate that fact later and get out of here before the cops show up. Karolina you might want to put your sun block on."

"Oh. Right." Karolina put her bracelet back on and the lightshow was gone.

The group quickly ran back to the beach barely managing to avoid the police.

Jade collapsed in her beach chair and rubbed her jaw, "Son of a bitch that hurt."  
"You okay?" Karolina asked, concerned.

The Goth nodded, "Fine, my healing factor fixed it up. I'm just lucky it set properly. How did you do that glowy bit thing?"

"I'm...I'm an alien."

"Nice. At least your not meant to be someone else." Jade mumbled.

"What?"  
"Nothing. So, actor boy, how'd you do that magic trick?"  
"Uh...well I'm...the son of Loki." Beck said.

"Loki, as in Thor's brother?" Tori questioned.

"Yes. I can't do all the stuff he can, but I've got a bit of magic tricks I can do. What about you? How do you have three powers?"

"I can copy any mutants power, but I can't control so the powers I get are completely random."

"You're a runaway." Nico said, the Staff of One disappearing inside her chest.

"How'd you know that?" Tori asked.  
"Don't you watch the news? You're all over it. You're parents are worried sick."

Tori scoffed and crossed her arms. "I don't care. My parent's are jackasses."  
"Oh, I'm sure they aren't that bad." Karolina said. "Our parents were a lot worse."

"They want to make me take that mutant cure." Tori said. "I don't need that! I'm proud of who I am."  
"Good for you. So, wait. They're trying to force you to take a cure so you ran away?" Nico looked at her.

"My parents are mutant haters. They'd do anything to get rid of mutants. Even me. My dad's trying to get Sentinels brought back."

"Oh, God." Jade groaned.

"Why don't you come stay with us?" Karolina suggested. "We're runaways too. Our parents are evil."

Beck quirked his head slightly, "Hold up. I know you. You're the kids of The Pride."  
"The Pride?" Tori looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.

"They were a group that basically ran L.A. until they died. Everyone thinks their kids killed them."

"Yes, we are The Pride's children, but we didn't kill them." Nico argued. "That's just something the media assumes."

Karolina looked from Tori to Jade. "You can both come with us. I mean we have enough girls as it is, but you'd be safe." She glanced hesitantly at Beck, "I suppose you can come too, but I don't know if you're a runaway."  
"That's sweet of you to offer, Karolina, but I think I'll have to decline." Tori said. "I'm unsure what my plan actually is, and no offense but I don't think it's with you guys."  
Karolina nodded and looked at Jade, "What about you, Jade?"  
Jade smiled softly at the girl, "Sorry Karolina, but I can't leave Tori all by herself."  
"I'll stick with her." Beck offered.  
"Fat chance I'd leave her alone with you." Jade said venomously. She saw Karolina frown a bit and asked, "Hey do you have a piece of paper?"  
Confused, Karolina checked her pockets until she found a receipt from a store and a pen. Jade quickly scribbled on it and handed it back. "If you need our help again you can call me. Or Nico can call. You get what I mean."  
"We'll keep it in mind." Nico said. She looked at Karolina, "Well, let's head back to the others. I think Molly will like to hear how we met more mutants."  
"Or she could be upset she didn't get to meet them too." Karolina pointed out. "Bye guys." Karolina and Nico walked down the street and were soon out of site.

Tori look over at Beck, "So, exactly how old are you anyway?"  
"Nineteen. I'll assume since your runaways your under eighteen."  
"Seventeen thank you very much." Jade corrected him.

"What are you planning on doing?" Tori asked.

Beck shrugged, "I have no idea. I'm just trying to help people when I can."  
"Defying your father's wishes huh?"  
"Something like that."  
"Maybe you can come with us." Tori suggested.  
"What? No!" Jade snapped, crossing her arms.

Tori frowned, "Jade, come on. He could help us."

"I've got my own car and money." Beck offered.

Jade sighed, "Fine. He'll sleep on the bed I was going to sleep in and I'll just sleep with you."  
"I can sleep with her."  
"Over my dead body."

Tori shook her head, "I agree with Jade's plan actually. I don't sleep with guys I just met."  
"Fair enough." Beck said.

"What do we do now?" Jade asked.

"I just realized you still have your sunglasses on." Tori said suddenly. "I'm surprised they didn't fall off during the fight."  
Jade smiled, "What can I say? I know how to pick my glasses."  
"Indeed. Lemme see them." Tori took the sunglasses from Jade's head.

"Hey! Give those back!" Jade reached to take them back, but Tori ducked under her reach and ran off. Jade cursed and quickly chased after her leaving Beck to watch and chuckle at the girls.


End file.
